West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-03-18

gests the yoluptu0us eplsodes oi tnt
Arabian Nights.
But one form of diversion is for
hidden these royal ladies; l refer to
their interviews with the court ply.
sicians. Next to the sacred luxury
of confidential talk with father
confessor or favored pastor, there
is scarce any solace which possesses
such attractions for the average
woman as sympathetic recital OF
her troubles and ailments to trust
ed family physician. But neither
one nor the other is allowed to see
the wives of the Shah. No priest or
doctor can receive from them the
confession of sorrows and sins, or
the narrative of aches and pains.
OF course, if she is i'll, then the
wife of the Shah receives medical
attention. But the physician may
not obtain even q sight of her face.
Behind curtain, surrounded by her
attendants, she responds to his
questions. In extremeneed she may
show her tongue, but no other part
of her features. Nor is the interview
altogether attractive to the physi-
clan, especially if he be a native, for
he must necessarily be extremely
guarded in his language, and if the
patient dies it may go hard with the
doctor. He does not venture to pre-
pare or furnish the drugs himself,
and the medicines he prescribes must
be compounded by servants of the
palace to insure against danger OF
poisoning as well as to protect the
practitioner from suspicion. The
European physicians practicing at
the court Of the Shah exercise some
what greater liberty In the matter OF
drugs and prescriptions, but even
they are obliged to proceed with
great caution, and never attempt any
serious surgical operations when the
patient is a Musselman. In the
matter of windows alluded to above,
l am reminded of a case growing out
of the laws and customs regulating
that question which gave me more
trouble than any other with which l
had to deal while at Teheran.
The missionaries had built a
chapel in their own grounds, but adj
Joining the estate Of the Emir Sui
tanch, powerful eourtier, who had
been endeavoring to persuade them
to sell the mission premises to him.
AS no price could be agreed upon
they declined to sell, and he then
entered on a series of annoyances
intended to make them sell at
any price. Twice he raised
mob of his own servants,
aided by some of the canaille, who
by violence drove the men working
on the chapel from the premises. By
employing great urgency at the For
eign Office l succeeded in prevent
ing a recurrence of such outrages.
By the expressed wish of the Shah
a conference was then held at the
Foreign Office to agree upon mo-
dus rirendi. The plan | suggested
proved entirely acceptable to the
Shah and the Minister Of Foreign
Affairs, and the Emir Sultanch was
instructed to accept it. While appa-
rently doing so, he yet raised diff
culties, doubtless in part because a
powerful faction opposed to the mis-
sionaries was behind him, and even
tually he resorted again to his tao
ties of annoyance. One of these was
the erection of screen wall on q
party wall between the two premises.
In this addition he caused two win
dows to be opened, overlooking the
grounds of our citizens. This was
such direct violation of the Per-
sian law that, although not contrary
to American customs, it could under
no circumstances be accepted only
as a gross insult, intended as an act
of persecution. To allow it to pass
unnoticed would be to invite further
attacks OIL our rights. With some
difficulty / succeeded in having the
windows walled up.
A few months later, during my
temporary absence in the suburbs,
the Emir Sultanch hastily threw up
n pavilion on a corner Of the party
wall and opened five new windows
directly overlooking the girls school
of the American mission. The mat
ter had now reached crisis; the
Minister of Foreign Affairs was
either in league with or afraid OF
the power of the Emir Sultanch, who
seemed determined to invade the
right to the quiet enjoyment of
property awarded by the treaty. In
this emergency / succeeded by fin
! esse in obtaining legal decision
from Hadgi Mollah Alec, the head
of the Mussulmans of Persia, and
also Chief Justice and expounder of
the law, which officially and emphat-
ically announced the law on the sub
iect, in language so strong that the
aggrieved party was even authorized
to shoot any one opening windows
overlooking neighbor's grounds